What is the difference between a leased line and business fibre?
Leased line vs fibre is a choice a lot of businesses make without quite realising they are making it. A leased line is a dedicated connection built for one business. Business fibre, often called FTTP or full fibre, is standard broadband delivered over fibre cable. Both can be fast. They are not the same product, and the gap shows up in the small print.
Most firms never ask which one they actually need. They take whatever the provider offers and renew it when the contract ends. That’s the Do-Nothing Default at work, and with a connection your business depends on, it’s worth a proper look.
The details below come from Openreach’s own business pages, read on 16 October 2026, and Ofcom’s advice for businesses, which Ofcom last updated on 16 September 2024. Check current terms with any provider before you buy.
How does business fibre work?
Openreach says full fibre for business uses fibre cable all the way from the exchange to your premises, with no copper in the chain. It quotes business download speeds of up to 1Gbps and uploads of up to 220Mbps.
An engineer fits a small box called an Optical Network Terminal at your premises, which connects to your router. Openreach also says full fibre has five times fewer faults than copper, and that you can upgrade or downgrade your speed at any time with no engineer visit needed.
Openreach calls full fibre the pinnacle of what standard broadband can offer your business. That wording matters. It’s a very good standard service, and standard services are sold on standard terms. Openreach puts its Ethernet product above standard broadband entirely.
How does a leased line work?
A leased line is a dedicated connection. Openreach calls its version Ethernet, and says it gives businesses dedicated connectivity at speeds ranging from 1 to 100Gbps and beyond. Its page also says that whether you are uploading or downloading data, your speed will be the same.
That last point is the one many offices notice. If your team sends large files, backs up to the cloud, or runs video calls all day, upload speed matters as much as download. Full fibre uploads are well below its downloads, according to Openreach’s own figures.
Openreach says more than 300 Ethernet service providers sell the product. In other words, you’ll usually buy a leased line through a provider or reseller, not directly from Openreach, and each will set its own terms.
Key takeaways
- Business fibre is standard broadband, with Openreach quoting up to 1Gbps down and 220Mbps up.
- A leased line is a dedicated connection, with the same speed in both directions.
- Service levels and repair times matter as much as speed, so ask for them in writing.
- Ofcom says not every product comes with a service level agreement.
When is a leased line worth considering?
A leased line is worth considering when your business can’t afford slow or patchy connectivity. Think of a firm that moves large files all day, hosts its own systems, or has a lot of staff on video calls at once.
For a small office with a handful of people on email, cloud software and the odd call, business fibre is often plenty. Paying for a dedicated line you don’t use is the mirror image of the Do-Nothing Default, buying the biggest thing because it sounds safest.
It’s also worth knowing that Ofcom lists dedicated data connections such as leased lines as one option among several for businesses, alongside business broadband, business landline and business mobile. Ofcom’s advice is to speak to your provider about what you need, and to compare services using an Ofcom accredited price comparison website.
What should you ask before you sign for a leased line or business fibre?
Ask about the service level agreement first. Ofcom describes an SLA as a contractual commitment provided by the telecoms operator to provide a minimum level of quality of service to your business, and gives quicker repairs as the example. It also warns that not all products come with an SLA for service availability, and that only some are fully resilient.
Ofcom gives a useful example of what a service level actually buys you. A 99.9% SLA, it says, would mean that on average your services might be down for ten minutes per week. Whether that’s acceptable depends on what a lost hour costs your business.
Then ask about the contract. Leased lines are normally sold on a bespoke basis, so the term, the installation charge and the exit terms can all differ between providers. We’ve not quoted prices here, because Openreach does not publish a leased line price list for businesses to buy from and the price you pay is set by your provider. Ask for the full cost in writing, including installation.
Our guide to business broadband rights under Ofcom’s rules explains what small firms can expect on contracts and switching. Many of those protections are written for broadband, so check whether they apply to a leased line before you assume they do.
It also helps to understand where your own building sits. Our news post on the latest Openreach copper stop sell areas shows how the old network is being phased out, and our explainer on 10Gbps broadband covers what the very top speeds do and don’t mean in practice.
If business fibre looks like the better fit, our comparison is the place to start. Compare a few providers rather than renewing on autopilot, and check the upload speed as well as the headline download.
Frequently asked questions about leased lines and business fibre
- Is a leased line faster than business fibre?
- Not necessarily on download. Openreach quotes up to 1Gbps for full fibre and 1 to 100Gbps and beyond for Ethernet. The bigger difference is that a leased line is dedicated and gives the same speed up and down.
- Does a leased line have the same upload and download speed?
- Openreach says that on its Ethernet service your speed will be the same whether you are uploading or downloading. Full fibre for business is quoted at up to 220Mbps for uploads against up to 1Gbps for downloads.
- Who sells a leased line?
- Openreach says more than 300 Ethernet service providers sell its Ethernet product. You’ll normally buy through a provider or reseller rather than from Openreach.
- What is a service level agreement?
- Ofcom describes it as a contractual commitment from the telecoms operator to provide a minimum level of quality of service, such as quicker repairs. Ofcom warns that not all products come with one.
Sources
- Openreach, Full Fibre Broadband for Business. Supports the up to 1Gbps download and up to 220Mbps upload figures, the five times fewer faults than copper claim, the Optical Network Terminal, speed changes with no engineer visit, and the description of full fibre as the pinnacle of what standard broadband can offer a business. Read 16 October 2026.
- Openreach, Ethernet. Supports the 1 to 100Gbps and beyond speed range, the point that upload and download speeds are the same, and the figure of more than 300 Ethernet service providers. Read 16 October 2026.
- Ofcom, Choosing a service and provider. Supports the definition of a service level agreement, the warning that not all products come with one and only some are fully resilient, the 99.9% example of around ten minutes a week of downtime, the listing of leased lines among business options, and the advice to use an Ofcom accredited price comparison website. Ofcom last updated this page on 16 September 2024.
Checked 16 October 2026.
